MFA director-general gets jail for lying over use of diplomatic bags

Fine inappropriate, says judge, citing serious potential impact to public service, ministry

- Shaffiq Alkhatib

A director-general at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has been sentenced to a week in jail for giving false information to a public servant over the use of diplomatic bags, after a judge disagreed with recommendations from the prosecution and defence for a fine.

Gilbert Oh Hin Kwan, 45, had sought to use the diplomatic bag service to deliver a sealed package that contained luxury watches from China to Singapore for a friend, who is a Chinese national. After the package was found by immigration officers, Oh lied to MFA that the watches belonged to his father.

The prosecution had urged the court to sentence Oh to a fine of between $6,000 and $9,000, saying his lies did not appear to have wasted investigative resources since he came clean to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) within 24 hours.

In her judgment, District Judge Sharmila Sripathy-Shanaz said a fine was inappropriate, as "the serious potential consequences to the integrity of the public service and the MFA domestically-in so far as its internal investigative process was undermined - and internationally, justify a custodial sentence as a starting point." 

She said that while she accepted that no actual harm has resulted from Oh's false statement, the court must proceed to consider if the statement had the potential to cause harm.

"The unchecked misuse of the diplomatic bag service on a false pretence, without knowing the full contents of what was being transported for a third-party foreign national... would have the potential to impinge on trust in Singapore's international relationships and cause embarrassment to the MFA, if there were no redress," the judge said.

A diplomatic bag is used for sending official correspondence and items to and from the ministry and its overseas offices, such as embassies or consulates.